Behind Enemy Lines Week 16: Seattle Seahawks

It's hard to find any story from the Seattle media concerning the Seahawks that doesn't include the word 'Super' or some mention of the Super Bowl.

That's because the 'Hawks shut out the New York Giants 23-0 in Week 15 at MetLife Stadium -- the site of Super Bowl XLVIII. So with the Seahawks having the league's best record at 12-2, there's a lot of talk about this being the first of two trips to New Jersey for Pete Carroll's team.

The Arizona Cardinals can throw a wrench in all the celebrating while strengthening their own playoff resume. Arizona (9-5) needs a win Sunday at CenturyLink Field to keep their postseason dreams alive.

The last time these two teams met in Seattle, the Seahawks embarrassed the Cardinals 58-0 -- the worst loss in franchise history.

But only 22 of the 45 Cardinals who suited up last December in Seattle are still with the team, so this game should have a different feel than that 58-point blowout did.

The two teams met earlier this year, with the Seahawks prevailing 34-22 on a Thursday night game in Week 7.

All week, in preparation for the game, we'll update you with everything going on in Seattle as the Seahawks get ready to host the Cardinals.

Right guard J.R. Sweezy, the only offensive lineman who had started every game this season for the Seattle Seahawks, will not play Sunday because of a concussion. "He went through the concussion protocol and didn't make it back," Seattle Pete Carroll said Friday after practice.

Seattle Seahawks free safety Earl Thomas knows the Arizona offense he will see Sunday is much better than the one he saw two months ago in the 34-22 Seahawks' victory on the road. Thomas said the biggest difference is the improvement in quarterback Carson Palmer.

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is tied for the league lead with six interceptions. His teammate Earl Thomas is one behind with five interceptions. So who would Sherman vote for right now at the NFL's defensive player of the year?

The significance of what the Seahawks can accomplish Sunday is significant to Zach Miller. The opponent is not. Yes, Miller grew up in Phoenix and went to Arizona State University. Yes, the Seahawks are hosting the Arizona Cardinals at CenturyLink Field. But no, that is not Miller's primary focus.

As the Seahawks prepare to face the Cardinals in a game that can give them the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed throughout the NFC playoffs, the verdict — in the eyes of the players themselves — is in: They are the best in team history.

A key to Seattle's victory in Arizona was its ability to constantly pressure Carson Palmer. Seattle's seven sacks were a season high. However, Arizona's offensive line has improved. And while Palmer remains hardly mobile, the sacks have subsided and that's one reason why Palmer has been more consistent lately.

Playoff standing is on the line for both the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at CenturyLink Field.

The Seahawks (12-2) would clinch the NFC West title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if they get their 15th consecutive home victory. The Cardinals (9-5) see this as a must-win game to keep their postseason hopes alive.

"It helps when you don't listen to the idiots in the draft room," Sherman said. "That's when you find players like [cornerbacks] Jeremy Lane and Byron Maxwell] and myself and [safety] Kam Chancellor. And the list goes on, like Russell Wilson."

"He's been a fantastic draft pick for us," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said about Willson. "To play so early and contribute in such a variety of ways, and he's really just getting started. He's a tremendous prospect for us for the years to come."

The suspension is the second in two seasons for Browner. He was suspended four games last season for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. He is the second Seahawks player to be suspended for violating the substance abuse policy this season. Fellow cornerback Walter Thurmond is serving the final week of a four-game suspension.

It has been four games and counting since Marshawn Lynch surpassed 100 yards rushing, and he's averaging 3.2 yards per carry in that span. It's a trend that is not necessarily as troubling as it is puzzling because the Seahawks seemed to have lost a step at precisely the moment you would have expected them to pick up speed.

It's no secret that the Seahawks would love to add depth -- or a possible starter -- on the offensive line, so ESPN Insider Todd McShay has the Seahawks addressing that need in his first-round NFL mock draft.

If it ends up Seattle has the final pick of the first round (obviously, what they're hoping for with a Super Bowl win) McShay is absolutely right about the Seahawks possibly grabbing Tennessee offensive tackle Antonio Richardson, a giant guy at 6-foot-6, 330 pounds and a man with unlimited, but unrefined, skills. Richardson is a junior who will enter the 2014 draft.

— WR Percy Harvin won't practice today and Carroll said there is nothing more definitive on a timetable — meaning, no one has a guess right now when he might return;

— There seems to be some hints that a decision may be coming soon from the NFL on Brandon Browner. But there wasn't anything yet when Carroll spoke. He said Browner would be limited healthwise if he were to be able to practice.

Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman has been named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after intercepting two passes in the team's 23-0 win at the New York Giants on Sunday.Sherman is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with six.

It's the second time he has been Player of the Week, also winning honors when he shut down Vernon Davis in Seattle's week two win over the 49ers at home.

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman would love to play in the Super Bowl in the snow. It would give his team's league-best passing defense even more of an advantage against a quarterback and receivers with cold hands and slow feet.

But Sherman doesn't think the Super Bowl should be played in the snow.

A Seahawks' running game that hasn't been as productive in the past four games will prepare this week to face an Arizona Cardinals defense that is allowing the fewest average rushing yards in the league.

Coming off a dominating 23-0 shutout of the New York Giants, the Seattle Seahawks seem to have everything going their way. They clinched their spot in the playoffs three weeks ago with their win over the New Orleans Saints, and will also almost certainly wrap up home-field advantage in the playoffs at some point before the regular season ends.

Hauschka is a brainy guy who didn't set out to be an NFL field-goal kicker. He could have easily become Dr. Hauschka. He was taking pre-med courses in college and intended on going to dental or medical school.

For the second consecutive year, the Seahawks will conclude their regular season by hosting two games against division opponents. This time, Seattle will need to win just once in the next two weeks, defeating either Arizona this Sunday or St. Louis next weekend to clinch not only the NFC West, but the top seed in the NFC playoffs.

Russell Wilson now is the only quarterback in NFL history to win 23 games in his first two NFL season. He also joined Dan Marino and Peyton Manning as he only quarterbacks ever to throw at least 50 touchdowns passes in their first two seasons.

1. Seattle's expertise in drafting and developing cornerbacks is unmatched in the NFL.

Brandon Browner's injury and Walter Thurmond's four-game suspension have left Seattle playing the fourth and fifth cornerbacks from its depth chart, and Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane have played better than average NFL starters.

Pete Carroll walked onto the field at MetLife Stadium, stopped at the edge of the end zone and just stood there for a few seconds, hands in his pockets as he looked into the fully lit, now empty stadium.

The game was over, his Seahawks had beaten the New York Giants 23-0. His press conference had ended, Carroll describing what was the team's most complete defensive performance in his four years as coach. And as Carroll stood at the edge of the field in his long-sleeved T-shirt, it was impossible not to wonder if the coach was letting his mind wander for just a moment, picturing Met Life Stadium seven weeks from now when it will be the site of the Super Bowl.

Playing at the site of Super Bowl XLVIII, the Seattle Seahawks put together their most suffocating defensive performance of the season Sunday, defeating the New York Giants 23-0 while securing their first road shutout since their Super Bowl season in 2005.

The more they claimed they didn't want to talk about it, the more they had to say.

A return trip to the Meadowlands for the Super Bowl hardly was a taboo subject after the Seahawks manhandled the New York Giants 23-0 on Sunday. With the way other contenders are betraying their weaknesses — and with the NFC road to East Rutherford almost certainly running through Seattle — Pete Carroll and crew should embrace the topic.